Glenn Beck apologizes for Reform Judaism remarks. ‘I was wrong on this and I apologize for it’

On the radio this morning, Glenn Beck lead his show with an apology for comments he made Tuesday about rabbis of Reform Judaism. “It’s almost like Islam … radicalized Islam in a way,” said Beck. “Radicalized Islam is less about religion than it is about politics. When you look at the Reform Judaism, it is more about politics.”

“I was wrong on this … and I apologize for it,” said Beck. “In this case I did not do enough homework.”

“Somebody has called me ignorant for what I said on Tuesday, and I think that’s a pretty good description of what I said.”

Meanwhile, on the website of the conservative monthly magazine, Commentary, Peter Wehnerwrites today that Beck is “the most disturbing personality on cable television” and that’s “taking into account the entire MSNBC lineup.”

One cannot watch him for any length of time without being struck by his affinity for conspiracies and for portraying himself as the great decoder of events.

All this is quite troublesome in its own right. But what ought to worry conservatives in particular is that Beck not only has the unusual capacity to discredit virtually every cause he takes up; he also confirms the worst caricatures of the right.